Recycling Specialists Say Green Is The Color Of Money You Can Save
By Donna Gordon Blankinship
When recycling specialists around Puget Sound make a list of all the reasons companies give for not doing more for the environment the No. 1 excuse is "It costs too much."
That excuse has become almost an anthem for Kathryn Howard Boyd, who manages a new King County Solid Waste Division project called "Dollars for Data." Her job is to convince companies they can afford to reduce waste, save energy and use less paper and plastic.
King County gives financial assistance to help them initiate innovative waste reduction programs. In return, the companies and agencies give King County information about how much money and resources the programs saved them.
The goal is to encourage others to do more for the environment by showing that it doesn't cost too much and, in many cases, environmental actions save money in the long run.
What follows is a list of positive environmental actions that are also winners from an economical standpoint. The ideas come from government and business organizations around Puget Sound.
#1: Recycle. The Business and Industry Recycling Venture, a public-private partnership between Seattle Solid Waste Utility and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, reports that about 60 percent of Seattle's waste comes from business — more than 400,000 tons in 1991. Pandora Touart of the BIRV says more and more companies are recycling, but "there's plenty of opportunity ... for increased recycling." The BIRV helps Seattle businesses reduce disposal costs by offering information, technical assistance and on-site consultations.
Recycling can cost money to get started, but can save money over the long run. Before The Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle began its recycling program, the hotel generated more than 800 tons of waste a year. Now, about 30 percent of the hotel's waste is being recycled, according to a case study from the BIRV. Combined disposal savings and revenue from some of the recyclables amounted to more than $10,000 in 1991. Will Williamson, who coordinates the recycling project at The Westin, says improved recycling for glass and aluminum cans will result in more income for 1992.
Another success story on an even larger scale involves Alpac Corporation, a soft drink bottler based in Seattle. Alpac recycled about 530 tons in Seattle and 1,300 tons from its seven plants in 1991, including damaged or defective aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, cardboard, plastic wrap, pallets, etc. The company received $62,000 in revenue from recycled materials in 1990. The operation saved $34,000 in disposal costs that year.
Tips from companies involved in the Business & Industry Recycling Venture include: get ideas from employees, talk to other companies about their recycling efforts, shop around for recycling services, promote your program to your customers and get them involved.
To find out how to recycle products other than paper, glass, cans and plastic bottles, you have a do a little extra work. The results, however, can be good for the bottom line. The Industrial Materials Exchange, an operation of the Seattle-King County Department of Health, publishes a catalog of materials that companies want to obtain or get rid of. The catalog is distributed to businesses primarily in Western Washington, although the information is available to everyone and the listings are free. Materials traded range from chemicals and solvents to textiles and plastics.
#2: Buy Recycled Products. The next step is to take the money you save from recycling and use it to buy recycled products, says Carol O'dahl, waste reduction and recycling planner for the Washington Department of Ecology. Recycled paper and other products cost slightly more than non-recycled products. Consumers must create a market for these products before the price will come down. To encourage more companies to use recycled products, several government agencies have added an ecological requirement to the bidding process.
The Seattle City Council this summer approved a new program to encourage the use of recycled and recyclable materials by the city and companies with which it does business. The ordinance gives preference to suppliers using recycled materials and sets minimum levels of recycled materials in products the city buys.
The BIRV says a company's purchasing agent can be an important link in the environmental process. To make sure your company's purchases support recycling, switch from yellow legal pads to white, reduce the use of plastic window envelopes and use shredded paper packaging instead of foam.
#3 and #4: Reduce Waste and Reuse. Buy only what you need. Keep a tight rein on purchasing. Buy products that can be reused. Watch out for over-packaged goods. Boyd says King County Solid Waste encourages companies to make reducing waste a priority, followed by reusing and recycling.
O'dahl says, "The first thing that every business can do ... is take a look at the way they're using resources. Simply switching to a double-sided copy machine will cut paper use in half."
She said another way to cut spending and reduce waste is to find out if you're getting a good value for your waste disposal. Shop around and talk to your disposal company. Maybe you can get by with a smaller dumpster or less frequent pickups.
If you can't recycle or reuse something, another way to reduce waste is to give it away. A number of charities accept used furniture, lighting fixtures and office supplies. Call before you visit a drop-off site to make sure they accept what you're trying to give away.
Repairing equipment instead of replacing it is another way to reduce waste. The Seattle Solid Waste Utility has produced a booklet called "Use It Again, Seattle: A Money-Saving Guide to Repairing, Reusing and Renting Goods in Seattle." Write for a copy of the booklet: Seattle Solid Waste Utility, Room 505 Dexter Horton Building, 710 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.
The Business & Industry Recycling Venture calls this "garbage prevention." The agency offers a long list of waste reduction ideas: buying bulk quantities, using ceramic mugs instead of Styrofoam cups, and reusing shipping boxes and packing materials.
Ideas from King County include: using outdated stationary for in-house memos, reducing the number of copies needed by circulating or posting memos, using centralized files for hard copies, taking advantage of computer technologies such as e-mail, avoiding cover sheets for faxes and using a rubber stamp for transmittal information, recharging laser printers and reusing file folders and envelopes.
Many companies have already taken steps toward reducing waste, but there's always one more step they can take. How about keeping "junk mail" out of your mail sack? You can remove your company name from unwanted mailing lists by writing to Direct Mail Marketing Associates, Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 3861, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-3861.
#5: Be Creative. Find creative solutions to recycling challenges and get your employees involved in the process. The Business & Industry Recycling Venture recommends keeping management and employees interested in recycling by monitoring the program and letting them know how much you're recycling, how much money you're saving and how the company's efforts are helping the environment.
Another way to get an economic edge out of environmental efforts involves public relations. Let your customers and clients know about your work. Nordstrom advertises how "green" it is right on its merchandise bags, which are made of 12 percent post consumer waste. The bags are imprinted with the following message: "This bag contains post consumer recycled fibers. We ask that you benefit the earth even more by reusing this bag." Some companies put a note in with the shipping material to let the customer know it has been recycled. Newsletters and other mailings sent to clients can be printed on recycled paper and advertised as such.
Some other creative ideas reported by public agencies around the Puget Sound:
American Business Supply of Kent streamlined its office forms to reduce them from three to two pages. They saved approximately 26 reams — nearly three standard copy paper boxes of paper in a year.
Nordstrom encourages its employees to participate in waste reduction through environmental awards. Prizes are awarded for the top 10 ideas each quarter.
Larry's Markets sends waste produce and withered flowers to Iddings, Inc. in Kent for composting. The rich soil amendment eventually is returned to Larry's and used in company landscaping.
The possibilities are endless and most positive environmental actions will earn money, instead of costing some. So you better think of a new excuse if you're going to continue to avoid the green revolution.
For more information, contact:
Business & Industry Recycling Venture at 206-389-7304.
The Washington Department of Ecology at 1-800-RECYCLE.
King County Business Recycling Program at 206-296-4356.
Bellevue Solid Waste Program at 206-637-7103.